There is currently no known medical treatment for stimulating the protection or repair of cartilage, tendons, muscles, meniscus, intervertebral discs, or ligaments. Osteoarthritis, for example, which is associated with degeneration of articular cartilage, is a leading cause of disability and immobility, with current estimates of over 40 million Americans affected. Articular cartilage in adults has an extremely limited ability to repair itself, and once deterioration begins, the outcome is usually an irreversible progressive degeneration and associated inflammation, pain and dysfunction. Current treatments include anti-inflammatory and pain medications, injections of steroids and hyaluronic acid into the affected joint, and surgeries, such as total joint replacement. Oral supplements of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate have been proposed as chondroprotective, but the chondroprotective effects of such oral supplements are controversial and minimal at best.